Port Ellen 17 Years Old 1981 Cask #1385 + 88 (Signatory)

From Signatory Vintage comes this Port Ellen at 17 year old, from 1981, drawn from cask 1385 + 88 and bottled at 43%. A release of 820 bottles. Port Ellen was founded in 1825 by the sea on Islay's south shore and silenced in 1983 when Islay had one distillery too many. Its last casks were laid down in 1983, a finite legacy ever since.

Drawn off traditional pot stills fed by the Leorin Lochs, to build a smoke at once oily, briny and refined. Refill bourbon wood held the spirit, flattering its citric, oily smoke. Two decades let the phenols ease into a rounded, coastal smoke. Refill wood flatters Port Ellen, holding back the vanilla so the smoke and citrus speak. Each Diageo Special Release thinned a stock that could never be replaced. The maltings that survived the closure still supply barley across Islay today. Salt air off the Atlantic worked into the casks through long island maturation.

At 43% it is balanced and smoky. Lemon zest and coastal salt ride on a soft maritime smoke, with a whisper of coconut from the cask. It is structured and a touch austere, the refill oak keeping it lean. A waxy, gently medicinal finish lingers long. This is a finite pour from Islay's most mourned distillery.